The Calgary Flames entered the season with the hopes of boasting a dynamic forward attack. Brad Treliving acquired Elias Lindholm and completely re-made the bottom end of the rotation last summer, with an eye toward fashioning a club that is more dangerous and less top heavy.

The former has occurred, but the latter hasn’t. Lindholm has fit perfectly on the top line with Johnny Gaudreau and Sean Monahan, which is now one of the best trios in the NHL. Matthew Tkachuk has also taken a step forward, and his combination with Mikael Backlund continues to be Calgary’s best tough matchup option at even strength.

After the club’s top-five forwards, though, things are a bit of a mess. The Backlund line has seen a rotating cast of right wingers to varying degrees of success, while the bottom-six cast has been shuffled and mixed with little success. Over the last 10-15 games or so, Calgary’s kids and support players have been getting their heads kicked in...